Fluid-expansion engine.



J. I. PORTOUL, DBGD. L. A. B. DE FOBTOUL, TRUSTEE. YLUIN EXPANSIONENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.22, 1911.

WQQJEU Patented July 29, 1913.

l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. i5 l Amen/EVS J. I. PORTOUL, DECD.

L. A. B. DBIOETOUL, TRUSTEIL- VFLUID EXPANSION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.32, 1911.,

Patented Ju1y`29, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEYS "UN 1ra STATES PATNT FFICE? JOSE IGNACIO FORTOUL, DECEASED,LATE, 0F CARACAS, VENEZUELA, BY LUISA.

AMALIA BRICEO -DI? FORTOUL, OF

CARACAS, VENEZUELA, TRUSTEE FOR HERSELF AND THE HEIRS OF SAID J OSEIGNACIO FORTOUL, DECEASED.

'FLUID-EXPANSION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.l

Patented July 29, 19135.

.Application filed April 22, 1911'. Serial No. 622,821.

To all/whom z''may concern:

Be it known that I', LUISA AMALIA BRICEO DE FoRroUL, a citizen oftheRepublic of Venezuela, and a resident of Caracas, Venezuela, trustee forherself and the heirs of JOSE IGNACIO FoRToUL, deceased, late a citizenof Venezuela, and a resident of Caracas, Venezuela, who did -in hislifetime invent certain new and useful Improvements in Fluid-ExpansionEngines,

do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of said invention.

This invention relates to a new and improved expansion engine of generalapplica- 1 a preferredembodiment of the invention;

tion, and more particularly relates to that form of heat engine whichdepends upon the expansion of a fluid as its actuating medium.

An object of the invention is to provide an economical form of heatengine for convert-ing the heat from a burner into kinetic energy, toactuate any form'A of machinery or for use in any place where the commonform of steam engine is now used.

.A further object of the invention is to provide a device comprising aseries of heating members so constructedand arranged that each member isheated during predetermined periods. and cooled' during the intermittentperiods.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automaticallyshifting a heating device from one element of the engine to another.

The above-outlined objects are attained by positioning a series ofcylinders on the circumference of a circle and providing heating meanspivoted from the center o f the circle, so constructed' that the heatingmeans are successively brought under each cylinder to heat the same.Each of these cylinders is filled with some fluid having a highcoetlici'ent of expansion and movable in each of these cylinders isA apiston rod,which is forced upward by the expansion of the fluid and isfree to fall on thencontraction of the fluid in cooling. The heat movingdevice is actuated by the piston rod, which piston rod energizes aspring during its upward movement and at the limit of this movementreleases a catch to permit the heat to swing to the next adjacentcylinder.

With the above and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the present invention consists in certain novel details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointedout in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying dra-wings, fication2 in whichsimilar characters of refenence indicate corresponding parts in both thefigures, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing and Fig. 2is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showingcertain parts in elevation.

Extending from a solid vertically-disposed supporting shaft 3, is aspider 4, which vspider is mounted on the shaft by means of vlimltingsleeves 5 and supports a substantially triangle-shaped'platform 6.Equi-distant from and parallel with the shaft 3 and positioned below theapices 7 of the triangle,

. are vertically-'disposed cylinders 8. It is to be understood thatVwhile the disclosure shows but three of these cylinders, any desirednumber may be disposed in the periphery of a circle, the center of whichcircle is the shaft 8. In t-he following description, but one of thecylinders and its connecting'device will be described in detail, itbeing understood that any number of these cylinders substantiallysimilar in construction may be used in this instance.

The cylinders 8 are braced by rigid rods 9 extending from one cylinderto another, and together with the rings 10 embracing each cylinder,constitute a supporting framework, which frameworkmay in turn besupported upon a suitable foundation by any desired means. Each cylindercomprises a body portion 11, having outturned langes 12 at its upperend, the lower end of 4which is externally screw-threaded at 13, uponwhich screw-threaded end is disposed the bottom head 14.-. Bolted to theflan es l2' is a top head 15, having a central disposed recessed boss16, through a center forming a part of this speci-v aperture 17 in whichextends a piston rod y means of which heat from a source hereinafterdescribed is passed through the cylinder in order to heat up theexpansible fluid 23, preferably alcohol, which completely tills thecylinder.

The 'upper end of the rod 18 has rigidly affixed thereto, a bracket 24extending from one side of Which bracket is an arm 25, lto which isattached a flexible connection 26, which connection passes around apulley 27 pivoted to an arm 28 rigidly mounted upon the platform 6 andis attached to a sliding arm 29, which arm 29 is guided in brackets 30,so that said arm extends substantially diametrically across theplatform. Bet-Ween the brackets 30, the arm 29 is provided with a rack31, which rack meshes with one of a series of gear wheels 32, looselymounted on a sleeve 33, which sleeve is loosely mounted upon the upperportion of the shaft 3, the lower end of said sleeve being offset at 34to constitute with the plate 35, a spring housing to contain a spring36. The plate 35 has .an extension 37 concentric with the shaft'3 andpositioned between said shaft and a boss 38 centrally disposed in theplatform 6. The outer end of the coil spring 36 is attached to theoffset portion 34 by means of a pin 39, the inner end of which spring isrigidly attached to the shaft 3 by means of a pin 40.

Depending from each of the gearV wheels 32 is a spring-pressed dog 41engaging, as the wheel moves in one direction, with the gears 42 rigidlymounted upon the sleeve 33. It will be seen that by this construction,as the rod 18 moves upward, it will draw the arm 29 in a directiontoward the cylinder, thereby rotating the gear wheel 32 in the di- Irection indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.

As the wheel 32 moves in this direction, the dog"`4l engages the gear 42and through the pin 39"gradually Winds up the spring 36, for a purposehereinafter described.

Rigidly mounted upon the shaft 3, below the platform 6, is a radially'disposed arm 43 keyed to said shaft by any suitable form of key 44. Theouter end of the arm 43 is formed into any suitable style of burner 45,preferably a gas burner adapted to t below and closely adjacent to thebottom of the cylinder 8. Gas is supplied to the burner by any suitablemeans, preferably, by an axially-disposed supply pipe 46 through asliding connection 47 and control cock48 .to the burner 45.

Itigidly mounted upon the arm 43 is a stop 49, the upper end :of whichstop is formed into a yoke 50, the upper end of which yoke faces in thedirection of movement of the arm 43. Movable vertically in said yoke,isa sliding rod 51 rigidly affixed.

tothe upper end of the piston rod 18. It will be understood that as thepiston rod 18 moves upward it will wind the spring-36 as hereinbeforedescribed, and will, at the same time, raise the rod 51. The length ofthis' rod 51 is so fixed that as the piston rod 18 reaches the limit ofits movement due to the expansion of the fluid in the' cylinder, the endof the rod51 will escape from the yoke 50. The burner then being freewill be actuated by the coil spring and will swing aboutcircumferentially in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1,until the yoke 50 engages with the next succeeding slidingrod 51positioned adjacent the next cylinder. 'Ihe heating agent having beenremoved from the cylinder under consideration, said cylinder will ofcourse cool to the temperature of the cooled surroundings and thecontaining luid will contract, thereby permitting the piston i'od 18 todrop by its ,own weight back into the cylinder, so that as each cylinderis heated, the fluid with the cylinder will expand, the piston rod willmove upward to the limit of its movement, when the heater willautomatically be carried on to the next succeeding cylinder, and so onrepeatedly, cylinder after -cylinder being heated and cooled.l Thisreciprocating movement of the piston rod may be conveyed through anysuitable mechanism, as, for instance, an arm 52 and gear connections 53,to any machine or power-actuating body.Y

Having thus described the invention, I claim as new and desire to securelby Letters Patent:

1.' In a vheat engine, a series of spaced apart cylinders, a pistonmovable in'each of said cylinders, heating means disposed beneath one ofsaid cylinders, and means ac tuated by said piston to move said heatingmeans to the next succeeding cylinder.

2. In a heat engine, a series of spaced apart cylinders, apiston'movable in each of said cylinders, heating means disposed beneathone of said cylinders, means actuated by said piston to mo've saidheating means to the next succeeding cylinder, and means actuated bysaid heating means under spring tension to move the same.

3. In a heat engine, a series of spaced apart cylinders, a pistonmovable'in each of said cylinders, heating means disposed beneath one ofsaid cylinders, means actuated by said piston to move said heating meansto the next succeeding cylinder, means actuated by said'moving pistontoplace said heating moving piston to place said .'same, and meansholding said heating means in position.

4. In a heat engine, a-cylinder, a fluidactuated piston'rod movable insaid cyllnder, means for heating said cylinder, and

means actuated by said piston rod to regulate said heating means.

5. In :a heat engine, a series of circumferentially dispo-sed cylinders,a centrally pivoted heating means, and means periodically moving saidheating means beneath said cylinders. Y

6. In a heatengine, a closed cylinder, a fluid completely filling saidcylinder, a piston rod projecting into said cylinder and actuated by theexpansion of saidfluid, a heating means disposed beneath said cylinder,and means controlled by said rod as it approaches the outward limit ofits stroke, to interrupt theA passage of heat to said cylinder.-

7. A closed piston cylinder of constant volume completely filled withanexpansible fluid, a piston rodhaving an end projecting into saidcylinder, and heat-ing means disposed beneath said cylinder forexpanding the fluid in said cylinder to force said piston out of saidcylinder.

8. A closed cylinder having a series of open-ended heating tubesextending `therethrough, an expansible fluid completely lling saidcylinder, a piston rod working in said cylinder, and means for heat-ingsaid fluid to expand the same, the expansion of said fluid acting onsaid rod to actuate the same.

9. A` closed piston cylinder filled with an expansible Huid, a pistonrod having an end projecting intoV said cylinder, heating means disposedbeneath said cylinder for expanding the fluid in the same, to force saidpiston out of the cylinder, a stop carried by said heating means, a rodactuated by the moving piston and in sliding engagement with said stopto hold the heat-ing means in itsposition beneath the cylinder, andmeans acting on said heating means to remove the same from beneath thecylinder when the rod is disengaged from the stop.

10. In an engine cylinder having an expansible fluid therein, a' pistonrod having an endprojecting into said cylinder, aheating means disposedbeneath said cylinder, a coil sprin acting on said heating means toremove t e same from beneath the cylinder, a connection between saidpiston rod and said spring, whereby the outward movement of said rodwill energize said spring, 'and means carrieduby said piston. rod,holding said heatin means against the action of said` spring untllsaidpiston rod has reached a predetermined point in its outward travel.

11. In a heat engine, a series of cylinders disposed in a circle, acentrally-disposed shaft, a heater rotatably mounted on said shaft andadapted to be positioned below said cylinders in succession, means forrotating said heating means, said rotating means comprising a sleeveloosely mounted on the shaft, a coil spring connectio-n between saidshaft and said sleeve, a series ofV gear wheels, one for each cylinderloosely mounted on said sleeve, means carried by each ear connectingeach of said gears with said s aft, whereby the rotation of said gearsin one direction will rotate said sleeve, a series of racks one for eachcylinder in mesh with one of said gears, and connection between thepiston of each cylinder and said rack, whereby the movement of thepiston will place said spring under tension.

12. In a heat engine, a series of cylinders, each having a heatexpansible fluid-actuated piston rod extending therefrom, a heateradapted to bepositioned beneath the cylinders, means successively movingsaid heater from one cylinder to the next, and means carried by each ofsaid piston rods positioned in the path of the moving heater to retainthe heater under a cylinder until the piston rod of that cylinder hasreached a predetermined position.

13. The combination of a casing inclosing 'a power chamber, means forintermittently 'be relatively movable, a member inl said chamber mountedto be acted upon by the power generated therein, and means operated bysaid member to control the relation of the energy-supply means and thesaidcaslng.

14. The combination of a casing inclosing a power chamber, means for-intermittently supplying energy to said chamber, said means beingbodily movable into and out of operative relation with respect to saidcasing, a member in said casing to be acted upon by the power in thecasing, and means operated by said member to actuate the said member tocontrol the position of said energy-supplying means with respect to thecasing.

15. The combination of a casing inclosing a heating chamber, a devicefor supplying heat energy to said chamber, said device and said casingbeing mounted so as to be relatively movable into and out of operativere latio-n with respect to each other, and means controlled by the powergenerated in said casing for relatively moving the casing and theenergy-supply means into and out of operative relation with each other.

16. The combination of a plurality of casings, each inclosing a heatingchamber, means for supplyingheat energy to said casings, said casingsand said means being mounted so as to canse the Casings to be in name tothis specification in the' presence of operative relation Wlth respectto the heattWo subscribing Witnesses.

Supplying means by turns and means COP.- LUISA AMALIA BRICEO DE FORTOUL,trolled by the power generated 1n the, said Trustee.

5 casings for producing relative movement of Witnesses:

sind heat-supplying means in said casings. SHE'LDON WHITEHOUSE,

In testimony whereof I `have signed my JOS VALERO LARA.

